45 women die daily from abortion

FORTY-FIVE out of 100 women, die daily from abortion, Country Director of Ipas, Dr. Ejike Orji, has said.

He urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the passage of the Violence Sex Prohibition Bill (VSPB).

Orji, who spoke with reporters in Abakaliki at the 46th annual general meeting (AGM) and scientific conference of Society of Gynecologist and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON), said the bill, if passed, would help reduce the number of rape cases in the country, adding that it would also ensure the prosecution of rapists.

He said the organisation has trained 410 journalists , adding that about 3,000 rape cases were reported in the last two years.

Safe motherhood, he said, is possible in Nigeria going by the present happenings across the country, stressing that SOGON alongside other health care organisations are taking measures to achieve safe motherhood in the country.

“We should double our effort to make sure we meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 5, which is to reduce maternal mortality by 75 per cent”.

“There are other interventions that are going on, especially in the area of immunisation. If women can keep their babies, the temptation to have more will be half since high infant mortality increases the propensity for the women to have more babies which leads women to the gallows.”

Commending the Federal Government, Orji noted that the government appropriated $11.5 million yearly for family planning, saying it is a good development because it was zero allocation before the present administration came to office.

According to him, family planning is made free in all the health institutions across the country.